Meeting for Worship - Sunday 11:00am to 12:00pm
Seekers - 9:45am to 10:45am
First Day School - 11:00am to 12:00pm
1920 Zehndner Avenue
Post Office Box 4786
Arcata, California, 95521
650-796-1219
Humboldt Friends Meeting
(Quakers)
Quakers and Rituals and Sacraments
(In general, Quakers have rejected traditional Christian rituals and sacraments. Even programmed Quaker meetings which feature singing and a sermon by a minister, usually do not include eucharist and baptism ceremonies. Instead, as written in the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Epistle 1941, Quakers “are called with a high calling to make every day of our lives a sacrament, that we may constantly live in that virtue and power that takes away the occasion, not only of war, but of the spirit of dissension and strife in every walk and area of life.” Some Quakers (Keith Helmuth and Kat Griffiths) argue that Quakers do have rituals worth examining but they may not be the traditional ones of other Christian faiths. Many unprogrammed Meeting sit in a circle or a square facing each other and consider that a ritual. (See Selected Quaker Writings below). (mtk)
Bible and Classic Quaker Writing
1 Corinthians 11:24-26 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Matthew 3:11 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
And with the Spirit . . .witness the one baptism into one body and you all in the light may see the one faith, which Christ is the author and finisher of. (Fox Epistle 124)
MUSIC
With a book and a steeple and a bell and a key
They would bind it forever, but they can’t said he
Oh the book it will perish and the steeple will fall
But the Light will be shining at the end of it all
Excerpt from George Fox song
SELECTED VIDEOS: "Why Quakers Don't Take Communion" and "The Quaker Handshake"
ART
The Quaker architectural aesthetic features simple, unadorned Meeting houses
POETRY
The Meeting House
A haven built of wood and light,
Where stillness holds the fading night.
No painted scenes, no gilded grace,
Just simple walls and open space.
The pews await, a silent choir,
Where whispered thoughts ignite the fire.
Of inner peace, a gentle hum,
As quiet waits, and souls become.
No spoken words, no hymns ascend,
But inward musings, without end.
A shared awareness, subtle, deep,
Where secrets of the soul we keep.
The light streams in, a gentle guide,
As waiting waits, on every side.
A space for growth, a place to be,
In quiet communion, you and me.
This is ai generated -- yes really!
Selected Quaker Writings
ROBERT LAWRENCE SMITH: Quakerism is the only faith that is most commonly explained in a cascade of negatives. Quakerism has no theology, no body of religious dogma, no sacred books, no written creed. Traditional “Quaker worship does not involve a minister, priest , or other religious leader. There is no liturgy. There are no crucifixes or other religious images in Quaker Meeting houses or home. . . . Friends do not baptize. . .” A Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Lawrence Smith p18
JOHN WILHELM ROWNTREE: All of life is sacred. Friends recognize that special moments of particular insight and spiritual awareness do occur, but they do not require prescribes rites or external sacraments. Friends practice the inward condition, but not the outward form, of the sacraments of baptism and communion. John Wilhelm Rowntree in 1902 wrote: It is inward change, the inward purification, the spiritual fact and not the outward symbol, that belongs in truth to the Kingdom of God. Neither in the refusal to baptize nor to take the supper do Friends set forth a negation. They assert, on the contrary, the positive truth that the religious life is the inward life of the spirit. But no place or time can limit its action, nor any symbol adequately express it. Britain Yearly Meeting, Quaker Faith and Practice, 1995. 27.37
PACIFIC YEARLY MEETING FAITH AND PRACTICE: In most Christian worship services, the goal is communion with God or the celebration of the Eucharist, so that worshipers sense the immediate presence of the divine among them. Friends feel that their experience of Meeting for Worship, especially when it is a gathered Meeting parallels this phenomenon. Worshipers who prepare the way by waiting together upon God sometimes experience this mystical connection. Friends in unprogrammed Meetings, like most people, cherish the passages and life experiences often marked by traditional sacramental forms and community recognition. Friends hold special Meetings for Worship where some of the content is planned in advance, specifically on the occasion of marriage or death. Many Meetings also hold small, usually informal celebrations for the birth of a child, graduation, new membership or another special even. These often take on the sacred character of a community united in its focus on the divine: a sacrament. Wary of how quickly a spontaneous celebration can become an empty ritual through repetition, Friends have avoided adopting rituals governed by outer rules or supervised by an ordained individual. (A few pastoral Friends practice the outward rituals commonly used in other Christian churches.). Pacific Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice.
STEPHEN W. ANGELL: Early Friends argued from such passages, by way of analogy, that God intended that all outward ritual to wither away as church practice in the same way that circumcision did, leaving only the spiritual forms such as baptism of the Holy Spirit. Outward rituals were a mere “shadow of things to come,” (see, e.g., Colossians 2:17), whereas what was important was the substance, Christ. Early Friends’ Views of the Sacraments by Stephen W. Angell. Barclay referred to a pre-existing definition, traceable to Augustine in the fifth century, of the word “sacrament,” as an “outward visible sign whereby inward grace is conferred” (Apology, 346), and observed most aptly that many other experiences than water baptism and the outward Lord’s Supper would meet this definition. Angell It is our belief [i.e., the belief of Friends] that we have been led out of the practice of these rites [i.e., baptism with water, and what is usually called the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper] by the Spirit of Truth; that we could not recur to them without grieving our heavenly Monitor; and that, in fact, they are not in accordance with the entire spirituality of the Gospel dispensation” (Gurney, Works I, 100). Angell
TIMOTHY TARKELLY: Fox advocated for an extreme rejection of liturgy and ceremony. . . Fox felt that worship had been reduced to symbolism and routine for their own sake and that Christians were missing a genuine connection with the Holy Spirit. Timothy Tarkelly. “George Fox, Episcopal Saint”. March 21, 2024. Friends believe that if they wait silently upon God there will be times when God will speak to them in the heart. The silent Meeting of Friends is therefore the sacrament of communion with God during which Friends lay themselves open to the leading of the Spirit. George Fox often wrote about his ``openings'', meaning revelations and it has been the experience of Quakers over the centuries that ``openings'' will occur in the mind of that ``a way will open''.
PINK DANDELION: Thus, as well as not needing priests and sermons, this interpretation of the direct encounter between humanity and God, and the continual nature of the transformation it brought, also meant that churches and outward sacraments could be dispensed with. The Quakers A Very Short Introduction. Pink Dandelion
WILLIAM P. TABER: Friends traditionally have used the word baptism or the phrase being dipped. In the primary sense, it conveys the experience of entering into a new kind or quality of life, consonant with John the Baptist’s declaration (Matthew 2:11) that the one who follows him would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. . . . In a common secondary sense, baptism connotes a journey of spirit into deep and vivid sympathy with the condition of a meeting or individual. . . .Finally baptism may refer to any powerful and meaningful spiritual experience, immersive in its feeling.” p 116. A Language for the Inward Landscape. Spiritual Wisdom from the Quaker Movement by Brian Drayton and William P. Taber Jr. Collapsible text is great for longer section titles and descriptions. It gives people access to all the info they need, while keeping your layout clean. Link your text to anything, or set your text box to expand on click. Write your text here...
RUFUS JONES: “When they had wearied themselves in examining me, they committed me and one other man to the house of correction in Derby for six months, as blasphemers,[41] “ Here begins Fox's first serious imprisonment. The charge was direct and distinct. He was committed as a blasphemer. Under the law passed by both Houses of Parliament, in 1648, Fox might easily have been condemned to suffer a death penalty. It was an offense, punishable by death, to deny that the Scriptures are the Word of God, or that the bodies of men shall rise after they are dead. It was blasphemy to say that the two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper are not commanded by God. It was also blasphemy to declare that man has by nature free will to turn to God. It was, of course, not difficult to find a charge of the violation of this drag-net act. Footnotes. 41 George Fox. An Autobiography. Edited with an introduction and notes by Rufus M. Jones
GEORGETOWN (TEXAS FRIENDS MEETING: Friends experience true and direct communion with God and fellowship with one another. These experiences make outward rites seem unnecessary and, to some Friends, are considered to be a hindrance to full attainment of the spiritual experiences that are symbolized. Friends appreciate others’ expression of sacraments, but for us, the very lack of symbols symbolize the inward nature of our sacraments. Georgetown Friends Meeting. (Texas). http://www.georgetownfriendsmeeting.org/friends-testimonies-beliefs/friends-the-bible-prayer-and-the-sacraments/
GIL GEORGE: It is a common misunderstanding to think that the Quakers do not practice the sacraments. While it is true that the rituals which are recognized as sacraments are not practiced (for the most part) by Quakers, we attempt to infuse our everyday lives with sacramental participation in the light and life of Christ. Sidney Lucas affirms this in his book The Quaker Message when he quotes the 1941 Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Epistle: “We are called with a high calling to make every day of our lives a sacrament, that we may constantly live in that virtue and power that takes away the occasion, not only of war, but of the spirit of dissention and strife in every walk and area of life.”(Lucas The Quaker Message 1948 26) Through the recognition of God’s presence throughout the world, every moment is an encounter with the sacred… if we are paying attention. Anything that distracts us from this reality of God’s presence then becomes a hindrance. For the early Quakers the reliance on outward rituals that were mediated by a priest who was appointed by the government in a large building called a church hindered many from connecting their lives to the sacred reality of God’s presence outside of the ritual. Today, some Quakers in the Evangelical wings have shifted somewhat on liturgy since it is no longer being forced upon us as necessary prerequisites to participation in society. “An Extroverted Quaker” https, blog by Gil George. ://extrovertedquaker.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/quakers-and-sacrament/
KEITH HELMUTH: While the importance of most of these early rituals and symbols such as plain speech, plain dress, meetinghouse architecture, and the undoffable hat has receded, there are, in particular, one ritual and one symbol that not only have endured but have come to define Quaker worship in the unprogrammed tradition: the ritual of meeting in silence and the symbolism of seating within the meeting space. These enduring forms reveal Quakerism’s sense of ceremony. Traditional Quaker worship, having discarded virtually all ritual and symbol, is paradoxically resilient and fragile. Traditional Quaker practice is resilient because it fosters diversity and has endured in part because it can emerge in almost any setting where people share a certain sense of the spiritual. I t is fragile, however, because the strength of its ritual effect depends on the quality of participant contribution at any given meeting for worship. The quality of contribution is manifest in both silent presence and spoken message—factors that vary over time and circumstances. . . . Sitting in meeting for worship is not casual. It is ritual, and as ritual it has the potential to foster a range of experience and sense of ceremony. It can be as simple as bringing a sense of comfort (a home for the soul), or transporting the participant into a trembling sense of urgency and responsibility for speaking a message. “Ritual, Symbol and Ceremony”. By Keith Helmuth. April 1, 2011. Friends Journal
KAT GRIFFITH: But we unprogrammed Friends like to tell ourselves that we don’t do liturgy. We’re even a bit smug about it—perhaps imagining all those Episcopalians obediently standing and sitting and reciting in unison while we have our direct line to God without all the fuss and bother of scripts and props. I see two problems with this view. The first is that we do, in fact, have our own rituals. We have little rules and procedures and ceremonies and special phrases for everything from greeting attenders to giving oral ministry to expressing agreement to clerking meetings. Saying we don’t do liturgy often makes our procedures obscure and bewildering to newcomers who have to figure it all out on their own. It also makes our liturgies a bit invisible to us, which means we don’t interrogate them as often as we should. We can choose between liturgy that is thoughtful and intentional and liturgy that is reflexive and habitual, but we can’t really choose no liturgy! Kat Griffith. “Dipped in God and Covered in Grace. February 1, 2021. Friends JournalCollapsible text is great for longer section titles and descriptions. It gives people access to all the info they need, while keeping your layout clean. Link your text to anything, or set your text box to expand on click. Write your text here...